The invention relates generally to an accelerometer consisting of a body provided with a coaxial plug connecting nipple, and in particular to a mounting arrangement for fixing an accelerometer detachably on the surface of an object to be measured. The invention relates also to a procedure for accelerometric measurement of the object.
Both single-axis and multi-axis accelerometers are known. They enable acceleration to be measured at a particular point on the surface of an object in one or more axial directions, and are mostly joined rigidly to the object being measured. If a surface zone on an object is to be measured accelerometrically, first an array of different measuring points is laid out. At each measuring point in the array a single- or multi-axis accelerometer is fixed. This involves a large amount of work and costs. Also transferring an accelerometer to a new measuring point array or a different surface zone was difficult, because the known accelerometers could be removed from the particular measuring surface only with difficulty. Moreover an accelerometer needs calibrating from time to time. Here again, the previous mounting of accelerometers on the object to be measured was unsatisfactory, because calibration had to be performed on the mounted accelerometer. It is much better if calibration can be carried out at a calibration station away from the measuring object.
The invention is therefore aimed at the creation of an accelerometer which can be mounted on and dismounted from an object to be measured in simple fashion, while permitting rational accelerometric measurement of a surface zone.
According to the invention, this objective is achieved by making the body of the accelerometer screwable into a mounting base fixable on the surface of a measuring object by the plug connecting nipple of the body. The mounting base has a connecting socket for a signal cable. The actual measuring element, i.e., the accelerometer, is therefore not joined directly and rigidly to the measuring surface but detachably, to an intermediate part in the form of a mounting base, making it easily exchangeable. Several mounting bases may be arranged on a measuring surface, though for accelerometric measuring-out it is not necessary to provide every mounting base with an accelerometer. According to a development of the invention, the mounting base may be designed to accept accelerometers in more than one axis direction. In particular it may be cubic in shape, with holes essentially at right angles to each other to receive the accelerometers. The mounting base is joined to the measuring surface by suitable means, for example by gluing or screwing, fixed or detachable. If required, the mounting base may have flats, enabling it to be sheared off from the measuring surface with a suitable wrench.
A process for taking a plurality of acceleration measurements using the above structure includes fixedly mounting a plurality of mounting bases to an object and sequentially removable attach one or more accelerometers to different measurement surfaces of the same or different mounting bases and take acceleration measurements at each location. This allows fewer accelerometers to make a plurality of measurements without adjustment of the mounting bases.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.